This article was taken from the January 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Looking for calm? Head to Rüschlikon in Zurich, where, eight metres below the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Centre, IBM Research has six new "noise-free" labs. "Their purpose is to enable research at the scale of single molecules and atoms," says Emanuel Lörtscher, a nanoscale electronics researcher and the designer of the lab. "At this scale, disturbances -matter." The lab doesn't just cancel out sound, but also electromagnetic radiation, vibrations from the ground, temperature and humidity, all of which can affect experiments. "These are varieties of noise -- it's not just acoustic noise," says Lörtscher, who started designing the lab five years ago.
Three pairs of Helmholtz coils provide an active cancellation system and purpose-designed air-conditioning controls -temperature to + or -0.01°C. Lörtscher built two prototype labs before completing the final six in early 2011 -- it took the next two years to set up the ultra-precise equipment. "All the details, they really matter," Lörtscher says. "If you lose a magnetic piece inside the lab, you screw up the whole magnetic-field compensation."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
